East End Cooperative Ministry this week announced it is temporarily halting its Community Meals program, which offered free lunch each day to anyone in the community.
The East Liberty nonprofit said the program won’t be available “for the foreseeable future.”
In an online announcement, the ministry said resources and funding are limited, spurring the organization to instead focus on its food pantry, where demand has “surged dramatically throughout 2025 as more neighbors slipped into food insecurity.”
“This was not an easy decision,” Diona Jones, the organization’s president and CEO, said in a written statement. “After realizing our economic position, we decided that it was in the best interest of the people we serve to amplify our efforts in the pantry vs. the community lunch. We hope to bring the Community Meals program back in its entirety once funding stabilizes.”
The decision, the group said, comes after a “tumultuous year,” which brought funding cuts, delays and rising costs to keep the kitchen running.
The group will still provide breakfast, lunch and dinner each day to residents of its Recovery House and Emergency Shelter.
Anyone in need of groceries can visit their food pantry from 8:30-10:30 a.m. and 11:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m. weekdays.
